Fortunately, Wisconsin does not have the death penalty. However, On Point readers might find this SCOTUS decision Madison v. Alabama, interesting. The government cannot execute a prisoner who is insane or is so mentally ill that he can’t understand the State’s rationale for executing him. Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986) and Panetti v. Quarterman… Read more
44. SCOTUS
Gerald Mitchell v. Wisconsin, USSC No. 18-6210, certiorari granted 1/11/19 Question presented: Whether a statute authorizing a blood draw from an unconscious motorist provides an exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. Decision below: State v. Mitchell, 2018 WI 84, __ Wis. 2d __, 914 N.W.2d 151. USSC Docket Scotusblog page (including links to briefs… Read more
Terance Martez Gamble v. United States, USSC No. 17-646, certiorari granted 6/28/18 Question presented: Whether the Court should overrule the “separate sovereigns” exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause. Decision below: United States v. Gamble, 694 Fed Appx 750 (11th Cir. 2017) (unpublished) USSC Docket Scotusblog page (including links to briefs and commentary) The “separate sovereigns”… Read more
Carpenter v. United States, USSC No. 16-402, 2018 WL 3073916, reversing United States v. Carpenter, 819 F.3d 880 (6th Cir. 2016); Scotusblog page (includes links to briefs and commentary) This one is a big deal. It’s impossible to say just where the law will go from here, but it’s clear there will be a lot of… Read more
Currier v. Virginia, USSC No. 16-1348, 2018 WL 3073763, June 22, 2018, affirming State v. Currier, 779 S.E.2d 834 (Va. App. 2015), reasoning adopted by 798 S.E.2d 164 (Va. 2016); Scotusblog page (includes links to briefs and commentary) A defendant who agrees to have overlapping charges considered in two separate trials cannot invoke the doctrine of issue preclusion adopted in Ashe… Read more
Rosales-Mireles v. United States, USSC No. 16-9493, 2018 WL 3013806, 6/18/18, reversing United States v. Rosales-Mireles, 850 F.3d 246 (5th Cir. 2017); SCOTUSblog page (includes links to briefs and commentary) As we noted in our prior post, this case is primarily of interest to federal practitioners, dealing as it does with the federal sentencing guidelines and the… Read more
Tyson Timbs v. Indiana, USSC 17-1091, certiorari granted 6/18/18 Question presented: Whether the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause is incorporated against the States under the Fourteenth Amendment. Decision below: State v. Timbs, 84 N.E.3d 1179 (Ind. 2017) USSC Docket Scotusblog page (including links to cert petition, briefs, and commentary) The State sought to forfeit Tyson Timbs’s Land… Read more
Gilberto Garza, Jr. v. Idaho, USSC No. 17-1026, certiorari granted 6/18/18 Question presented: Does the “presumption of prejudice” recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470 (2000), apply where a criminal defendant instructs his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal but trial counsel decides not to do so because the defendant’s plea agreement… Read more
